June 19, 2019 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council at its 177th Meeting held on April 12, 2019, recommended revised fleet-wide sea turtle interaction limits along with new individual trip-based interaction limits. A recent draft biological opinion (BiOp) developed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) provided managers with basis for new limits for loggerhead and leatherback turtle interactions, potentially allowing the fishery to be reopened this year. The fishery closed on March 19, 2019 due to interactions with 17 loggerhead turtles, all of which were released alive.
Every vessel for every trip of the Hawai‘i-based shallowset longline fishery for swordfish has a federal observer who ensures accurate monitoring of interactions with protected species. The North Pacific loggerhead population is growing annually at 2.4 percent, but a court settlement in May 2018 reduced the fishery’s allowable interaction with the species from 34 to 17. The cap of 17 may be modified when NMFS finalizes the new BiOp for the fishery and issues new regulations based on the Council’s recommendations.
In June 2018, the Council recommended annual limits of North Pacific loggerhead and leatherback turtle interactions consistent with what was set forth in the upcoming BiOp. The draft BiOp released on March 28, 2019 (originally promised in October 2018), requires NMFS to set an annual limit of 36 loggerhead turtles and 16 leatherback turtles for this fishery. The Council recommended these limits to be implemented under regulations for the Council’s Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) and further recommended that the existing turtle interactions occurring from Jan. 1 to March 19, 2019, apply toward the new limits, essentially allowing the fishery to re-open.